Part 4 (2/2)
Kit Carson was too well versed in trapper rules not to read the meaning of this action. He, therefore, walked off also; but, in the direction of his own lodge. In a brief s.p.a.ce of time, both men appeared before the camp, each mounted on their respective horses. The affair had drawn together the whole band, and they were now, quietly, so many witnesses of the facts here recorded.
Captain Shunan was armed with his rifle. Kit Carson had taken merely a single-barrel dragoon pistol which happened to be the first weapon that had fallen in his way, because of his hurry to be on the ground.
The two men now rode rapidly towards one another, until their horses'
heads almost touched, when both hors.e.m.e.n reined up, and Kit Carson addressed Captain Shunan as follows:
”Am I the person you are looking for?”
Captain Shunan replied, ”No!”
It was apparent that this reply of Captain Shunan was a falsehood; for, while giving it utterance, he raised his rifle in the act of shooting, bringing it to his shoulder and covering his antagonist.
Before, however, Captain Shunan could discharge his gun, the ball from Kit Carson's pistol shattered his forearm, causing the rifle to tilt upwards, which changed the direction of its contents in such a way that Kit Carson received a wound in his scalp while the powder severely burnt his face.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Before, however, Captain Shunan could discharge his gun, the ball from Kit Carson's pistol shattered his forearm.--PAGE 100.]
It was the universal opinion of the spectators of this unhappy scene that both parties fired nearly at the same instant. The facts of the case show very plainly, first, that Captain Shunan's intent was to kill his antagonist. Why did he aim at Kit Carson's breast? Second, that Kit Carson's shot was delivered perhaps a second or two in advance of Captain Shunan's; third, that Kit Carson did not desire to kill his antagonist, but merely to save his own life, by disabling his adversary. The fact that his shot struck first and hit Captain Shunan's right arm is sufficient proof of this. When Kit Carson's well-known and indisputable skill with all kinds of fire-arms is taken into the account; and that, notwithstanding this skill, he hit his adversary in one of only two places (his right or left arms) which would have rendered his aim with the rifle uncertain, the statement that Kit Carson did not intend to kill his adversary becomes an incontrovertible fact. Last, had Kit Carson not gained a second in advance in the firing, he would have lost his own life, inevitably; and, the emphatic ”No!” the lie of his antagonist, would have been crowned with success. Such plain deception seldom is allowed to triumph by an all-wise Providence.
In judging Kit Carson in this matter, the reader will commit an ungenerous error if he fails to allow to be placed, in the balance of judgment, the stirring deeds and daily hair-breadth risks Kit Carson, during so many years of his eventful life, was constantly called upon to take a part in and undergo. We take leave of this unfortunate scene in his life, feeling confident a just public opinion will see in it no cause to pluck from the brow of Kit Carson any of the laurels which it has been called upon to place there. As a man of truth, honor, virtue, and reverence for the laws of his country, Kit Carson has few equals and no superior among Americans. It needed not this incident to establish his courage; that had long been proven to be undoubted. Nor did the result elate his feelings in the least. He met his companions without a smile, and invariably expressed his regrets that he felt it to be his duty, for the good order and peace of the camp, to interfere in the matter. On the other hand, when he espoused the cause of the majority in maintaining the right, he was not a man to be easily thwarted. When the affair was ended, Kit was congratulated and received the thanks of nearly every individual present; for, each felt that a load of most vexatious and troublesome responsibility had been taken from his shoulders. The good fellows.h.i.+p immediately introduced into the camp was also a circ.u.mstance of mark.
The wounded man was carried to his quarters and every attention shown him in the power of his companions. His punishment had the effect completely to subdue him.
These duels among the old trappers of the Rocky Mountains were not very unfrequent occurrences. Men, situated as they were, beyond the reach of the mighty arm of the law, find it absolutely necessary to legislate for themselves. It is not within our province to advocate either the right or wrong of duelling; for, with the best of reasoning, there will always exist a difference of opinion on the subject. In the case of these mountaineers, when any serious offence was given, the man receiving the injury to body or fame held the right of demanding satisfaction. The interests of the entire band required an immediate settlement of difficulties, so that their future plans could be carried out in concert. In their dealings with each other they were strictly honorable; and when by any mischance a rogue crept into their ranks, if detected in any rascality, he was summarily and severely dealt with. Their duels were serious events; for, oftentimes both men were killed. In fact, the case could hardly be otherwise.
They were men of unflinching courage, and their weapons were generally rifles, which, from long practice, they held with a certain and deadly aim. We cannot better close this pa.s.sage in the life of Kit Carson than to quote the language held in 1846 by the Biographer[8] of the great explorer, JOHN CHARLES FREMONT:
”He” (Christopher Carson) ”is a remarkably peaceable and quiet man, temperate in his habits, and strictly moral in his deportment. In a letter written from California, in 1847, introducing Carson as the bearer of dispatches to the government, Col. Fremont says: 'with me, Carson and truth mean the same thing. He is always the same--gallant and disinterested.' He is kind-hearted, and averse to all quarrelsome and turbulent scenes, and has never been engaged in any mere personal broils or encounters, except on one single occasion, which he sometimes modestly describes to his friends. The narrative is fully confirmed by an eye-witness, of whose presence at the time he was not aware, and whose account he has probably never seen or heard of. I shall tell the story as it is gathered from them both.[9]
[Footnote 8: Charles Wentworth Upham.]
[Footnote 9: The reader will easily correct the few discrepancies of facts contained in this statement, by the narrative which is from Carson himself, and given with a view to publication.]
”In the year 1835, the Rev. Samuel Parker made an exploring and missionary tour, under the auspices of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, beyond the Rocky Mountains, and as far as the settlements on the Columbia River. In his printed journal he gives an account of the incident to which I am referring; it occurred on the 12th of August, at a point on the borders of Green River, beyond the South Pa.s.s, on the occasion of a 'rendezvous,' that is, on a spot selected for Indians, trappers, and hunters to bring to market their peltries, and obtain supplies from the agents of the Fur Companies. There was a large concourse of savage tribes, and all the various denizens of the wilderness. There were Frenchmen, Spaniards, Dutchmen, Canadians, and Western backwoodsmen. The Rev. Mr. Parker happened to be there, to witness the strange gathering. Of course there were some rude characters, and not a little irregularity and disorder. Conflicts were liable to arise between quarrelsome persons, growing out of the feuds among the tribes, and animosities between the representatives of different nations, all actuated by pride of race or country.
”A hunter, named Shunan, a Frenchman, who was well known by the t.i.tle of the 'big bully of the mountains,' mounted his horse with a loaded rifle, and das.h.i.+ng defiantly around, challenged any person, of any nationality, to meet him in single combat. He boasted of his exploits, and used the most insulting and irritating language, and was particularly insolent and abusive towards Americans, whom he described as only worth being whipped with switches. Kit Carson was in the crowd, and his patriotic spirit kindled at the taunt. He at once stepped forward and said, 'I am an American, the most trifling one among them, but if you wish to die, I will accept your challenge.'
Shunan defied him. Carson at once leaped upon his horse, with a loaded pistol, and both dashed into close conflict. They fired, almost at the same moment, but Carson an instant the quickest. Their horses' heads touched. Shunan's ball just grazed Carson's cheek, near the left eye, and cut off some locks of his hair. Carson's ball entered Shunan's hand, came out at the wrist, and pa.s.sed through his arm above the elbow. The bully begged his life, and it was spared.
”This put an effectual stop to all such insolent proceedings, and Americans were insulted no longer. Carson is still living, being yet, indeed, in his prime. His faithful commander has recorded his name on the geography of the continent, by calling after him a river and a lake, in the great basin they explored together.”
CHAPTER V.
The Fall Hunt--McCoy of the Hudson's Bay Company organizes a Trapping Party which Kit Carson joins--The Hunt--Scarcity of Beaver on Humboldt River--The Party is divided--Kit Carson with a majority of the Men goes to Fort Hall--Hards.h.i.+ps and Privations met with--Buffalo Hunt--All their Animals stolen in the Night by a Party of Blackfeet Indians--Arrival of McCoy from Fort Walla Walla--The Rendezvous--Kit Carson joins a strong Band--The Small Pox among the Blackfeet Indians--The Crow Indians on good terms with the Whites--Intense Cold--Immense Herds of Buffalo--Danger of their goring to death the Horses--The Spring Hunt--The Blackfeet Indian Village overtaken--A desperate Fight with these Indians--The Rendezvous--Sir William Stuart and a favorite Missionary--Kit Carson goes an a Trading Expedition to the Navajoe Indians--The Return--He accepts the post of Hunter of the Trading Post at Brown's Hole.
Arrangements for the fall hunt were now in active progress among the trappers. Though the reader may find some similarity of fact and idea as we progress in this part of the Life of Kit Carson, the interest which hangs about it, nevertheless, will not, or should not be dampened, because this pen-painting of his long and active experience is a better and more faithful exhibit of those qualifications, knowledge and skill which afterwards made him, first the guide and then the bosom friend of the ill.u.s.trious Fremont, than any a.s.sertions whether authenticated by published record, whether rested upon statement on knowledge, information and belief of acquaintances and friends, or, whether facts taken from the thousand allusions to his exploits which have from time to time flooded the press of the United States.
The company of trappers which had been so fortunate as to secure the services of Kit Carson, for facts seem now to warrant us in employing this language of just praise, set out for the Yellow Stone River, which stream they safely reached, and on which they set their traps.
Dame Fortune here seemed to be in unpleasant mood. Crossing the country from the Yellow Stone to the Big Horn River, they again courted the old lady's smile with stoical patience, but with no better results. They next extended their efforts to the three forks of the Missouri River; also, to the Big Snake River. The fickle old lady proved scornful on all these streams, and finally, on the latter stream and its tributaries they wintered.
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